10 IAF personnel feared killed in Bhuj air base

About 15 Indian Air Force personnel were feared killed in the Bhuj air base in the earthquake that hit Gujarat on Friday morning.

An IAF spokesman said the 'exact assessment of the number of people killed and damages are still awaited'.

"Our teams are already in Bhuj. We are awaiting final confirmation about the kind of casualties and damages that we have suffered," the IAF spokesman said.

However, a senior IAF official told rediff.com that, according to initial estimates, at least 10 IAF personnel may have been killed at the base and it is feared that the figure may go up.

Bhuj is a frontline fighter plane base, where a squadron of the single engine MIG-21 fighters is stationed.

Meanwhile, transport aircraft and helicopters of the IAF swung into action on a war-footing to rush rescue and relief teams to the earthquake hit areas of Gujarat and Rajasthan.

At least one aircraft carrying emergency medical teams and facilities has already landed at the Bhuj Air Force base, which has been cut off from the outside world after suffering major damage in the earthquake.

"The base is operational, we don't have any exact idea of the kind of damages suffered as communication with the base has been cut off. We only have an emergency contact with them," a senior IAF official said in New Delhi.

The IAF on Friday evening airlifted a team of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Air Force Hospital and other hospitals, along with emergency satellite communication equipment and engineers to Gandhinagar.

According the Air Force spokesman, two IL-76 transport aircraft, 10 AN-32 aircraft, three Avros and two MI-17 helicopters have been pressed into service.

These aircraft are operating between Gandhinagar, Delhi, Chandigarh, Pune and Bhatinda. These are the stations from where the army is making massive mobilisation of personnel and equipment, primarily that of the army.

"Our entire fleet of helicopters and transport aircraft are on standby. Whenever relief material and personnel needs to be rushed, they would be pressed into service," the spokesman said.